OREO Project 2012

06 October 2012

Last year, I participated in the OREO Project by Jen Wagner (projects by Jen). My students love it so much that this year I was able to convince the entire 5th grade (and a few 3rd grade classes) to do it with me. We had JUST as much fun. :) I wanted to write about it again for you all because there is still time to participate. The project doesn't officially close until October 12, so you can definitely get in on it!

This year, we started the day focusing our thoughts on the scientific process and how what we were doing was one big science experiment. Since we were submitting results along with 1000 other classes, the process had to be the same for us all. Using this sheet, we set up what we were about to do with the stacking....laying out our inquiry question, listing materials, hypothesizing, and even noting our variables. Starting out this way gave the students a sense of importance and seriousness we didn't have last year...and I liked it!

Then, we of course went out to stack, and of course, the students LOVED it! There are some pictures of the kids (that I wish I could show you....) that are just so joyful and excited. Truly, a fabulous way to learn. Here is a cropped out picture though.

When we came back in, we talked about our results, found the class mean (which came out to exactly 18!) and talked about any conclusions we came up with as to why these were the results. There was a lot of academic talk an understanding....and again, I liked it!

The next step was to desegregate the data. In small groups, the students found the mean, median, mode, range, and outliers of all the data. They then created bar graphs to show the data. Again, a lot of academic talk and application of mathematical concepts...and again, I liked it.

Our day ended with the students creating sculptures using the cookies. Here they got to be creative, do a little art, get a little messy, and have a little fun. This part, for me, was a little less fun, but for them....they really liked it.

A Mermaid

Medusa

To wrap it all up, they made bubble maps describing their sculptures and wrote descriptive paragraphs. Here is the paper I used (it is round with lines, so the kids can create an "oreo" to put on the board).

And that is that. A full day of standards-based fun that the kids will not soon forget. It truly is worth the day it takes (and in truth, you can do as much or as little as you want...and if you have to take a part out, the sculptures wouldn't be missed ;) )

20 comments

Just posted our results Friday. Third graders averaged just less than 19. We also reviewed moon phases after the stacking was done. We ran out of time but kept the cookies. Maybe we will sculpt on Monday.

Our class had a great time participating in the OREO project again this year. We save our oreos instead of making sculptures. We are going to use them for an activity on moon phases. I also read "If You Give a Moose a Muffin" by Laura Numeroff. The kids then have to write a loop story called "If you give the principal an Oreo" The stories are really cute and creative.Thanks for sharing your activities.

We did the OREO project last year and the kids LOVED it!!! Because I keep half my class for two years, I decided to wait a year before I do it again. LOVE your sculptures - they turned out so much better than anything in my room! ;)

I am definitely doing this project this week. I am going to talk to my colleagues so that they will do it too. How many packages of Oreos are required? BTW thank you soooo much for all the PDF's. That will save me a ton of time.Fabiola4everateacher.blogspot.com

I had each student bring in one bag of Oreos. (I sent home a letter asking them for some...as well as if any parents wanted to volunteer) We ended up using about one bag per pair of students. The sculptures are what took a lot of Oreos, not the stacking. We could have gotten away with just one bag of Oreos if we only stacked and took turns with the bag (though it would have taken a long time)

There are 33 oreo cookies in 1 bag --- so you usually need at least 1 bag per class. I usually buy 3 bags. 1 for stacking, one for overflow (the students will become finicky about which oreos are suitable for stacking) and 1 for either eating or (my favorite -- the sculpture).

I bought a box from Costco. It had ten sleeves of 13 cookies in each sleeve. I had 4 groups of kids working on stacking at a time. Each group had 25-26 cookies and that left one cookie for each of my 28 students to eat after...The room just smelled like one big Oreo and they were DYING for just a taste!